ODW, read the following with an open mind as a bunch of OWT's don't pass muster in the light of scientific evidence. Jones based his conclusions on some 2500 patterns shot in groups of 10 per gun/load/choke. His early work showed that patterns are so variable that samples of less than 10 are likely, very likely to give false data. The most impressive part of his work is methodology to capture patterns with digital photos, feed the photos to a computer, and software to give statistically valid analysis. For scientific purposes, his is the only "good" data we have.
Synoposis: OWT's investigated.
Increasing the velocity of the shot tends to give wider patterns (Largely false)
Fixed choke guns can give the benefit of tighter patterns by using larger sized shot (False)
Plastic wads are the greatest advance since the invention of choke boring (True for trap, False for most other shooting)
Boring barrels beyond nominal improves the quality of the pattern (Largely false)
Soft shot gives wider patterns (True, but largely irrelevant for most shooters)
Very tight chokes lead to blown patterns or overly "Hot" centers (False)
A taper-parallel choke gives the best patterns (False)
Some combination of gun/load gives more even patterns (False)
Steel shot gives tighter patterns than lead (False for UK #7.5)
Heavishot gives tighter patterns than lead (False)
Short shot-columns give better patterns (False for typical weights of shot)
Every gun is a law unto itself (False until someone tests every gun)
Multiple pellet strikes are required to break a clay target (False)
There is much more, but it is some heavireading!
DDA
